Falcons Dive Deep and Find...well...depth

As football camps draw near, it seems that every notable subject has been covered. Early draft picks, free-agent suprises, legal reconcilliation, and whatever the hell the Raiders are up to. Now there is a hiatus of sorts. A pro-football purgatory, if you will. Now in the scramble to unearth new stories from the mounds of existing data from coverage that started way too early (o yea, I went there) I think we, as sports fans have reached the proverbial bottom of the barrel. Or have we? At this time of year, few and fortunate are those sports writers who can actually come with a story worth telling that hasn't been told by somebody, somewhere already. This is where I think I may have the inside track. I have nothing new to report on. As far as I'm concerned, anything worth happening before opening day has happened. I would, however, like to expound on a subject that has been covered to near-death. The '09 draft. Not the first three rounds, mind you. I'm talking late-day 2. The place where the distinction is made between impact players and immediateimpact players. Every Falcons fan on the planet knows the name "Peria Jerry". Most know the name "William Moore", and a few "die hards" might even be able to plug the words "Christopher Owens" into an every-day conversation. After that, does any one know who the Falcons drafted? Anyone? Yeah, didn't think so. Let me throw some names at you: Stacey Andrews, Jared Allen, Cato June, Al Harris. Any of those names ring a bell? Yeah, I thought so. Any idea what those names have in common? Those are names of defenders (and one OL-man) from relatively recent drafts taken in the 4th round or later. To follow is a breakdown of who Atlanta drafted in rounds 4-7, accompanied by the actual round, overall pick, and what I think the chances are of each respective player seeing actual pro snaps in the 2009 season. These odds are divided into four categories: 1) gonna happen, 2) prolly, 3) fair-to-middlin', and 4) haha. If you find this rating system too difficult to follow, then you prolly have too much college education under your belt to be worrying about football any way. haha

Player: Lawrence Sidbury Jr., DE

College: Richmond

Round taken: 4th (125th overall)

'09 playing odds: haha

With Jamaal Anderson (1st rounder in '07) on the left, and John Abraham (16.5 sacks in '08) on the right, Sidbury has virtually no chance of seeing the field this regular season. Highly athletic and pretty good at the combine, Sidbury will be someone to keep an ear out for in coming years, but almost certainly not this one. The depth Atlanta has at this position, while not exactly standout, is considerable, veteran, and incumbent. The highlights of Sidburys' '09 season will come in preseason.

Player: William Middleton, CB

College: Furman

Round taken: 5th (138th overall)

'09 playing odds: fair-to-middlin'

The fair-to-middlin' ranking for Middleton's '09 playing time may be a bit optimistic as he was the 2nd CB taken by the Falcons in the draft, opposite Christopher Owens. Middleton is an Atlanta native, however, and is possessed of the proper skill-set, if not the proper height (5'10") to make a strong case for starter in an already suspect secondary that finished 21st in the league for pass yards allowed, despite having a very serviceable pass-rush.

Player: Garret Reynolds, OT

College: North Carolina

Round taken: 5th (156th overall)

'09 playing odds: prolly

Again, a very liberal ranking for playing time for Atlanta's only offensive player taken in the '09 draft. Call it a hunch. Depth for the offensive tackle position is usually an afterthought for most teams, but for Atlanta, a team that makes it's living on the ground along with a sophmore quarterback, "too much depth" along the offensive line is an oxymoron. A veritable beast of a man, 6'8", 309 lbs., and already second on the depth chart at his position, I could easily imagine Reynolds seeing some playing time this year, especially if he shows any inkling in camp that he could make the transition to guard, a position in which the Falcons have virtually no depth to speak of.

Player: Spencer Adkins, LB

College: Miami

Round taken: 6th (176th overall)

'09 playing odds: gonna happen

The epitome of "under the radar" talent, Adkins made quite an impression at his pro day in Miami. He had to, he wasn't invited to the combine. Diagnosed with the occasional case of "blown assignment", Adkins has shown remarkable athleticism and speed, and a willingness to sample other positions. He'll almost certainly not see the field in his accustomed linbacker slot in '09, but will most-likely see the field early and often on special teams, a unit the Falcons have vowed to improve in the offseason.

Player: Vance Walker, DT

College: Georgia Tech

Round taken: 7th (210th overall)

'09 playing odds: haha

With plenty of eye-opening stats and national accolades to his credit, Walker is thought of as being not so much of a budding star but more of a worthwhile work-in-progress. Spending most of his college career in the thankless shadow of more highly publisized teammates at Georgia Tech, Walker is renowned by any who have worked with him as a poster-boy for grit and consistancy. Two highly prized attributes for any athlete playing at his position.

For any fan that truley pays attention to regular-season games, the 2009 draft,while conservative, was one of patience and strategy for the Atlanta Falcons. That in itself, is something of a breath of fresh air. In my own humble, albeit often misguided opinion, this years draft was spent not fixing things that weren't broken. The defenses' potential was supplemented, special teams issues were addressed, and the o-line was somewhat shored up. It was the draft of a team that knew what it had in hand, and was content with the major ripples it had already made. And while I'm sure that there are observers from 31 other teams saying the same thing, I feel it should be voiced that my team wants to win this year, and is willing to do the smart thing to make it happen. Bottom line, I don't see any of this years' rookie class making any big splashes,but I do feel that they are on a team that will be much prepared-for in 2010. So I say, let this years rookies make next years headlines. I personally believe that '09 will be a year of the incumbents. I'm okay with that. So, until Sept. 13, stay you, A-town.......stay you.